Healing Waters International has been teaching people the importance of proper handwashing techniques in all parts of the world. But we all know washing your hands requires water, so what happens in areas without clean running water? Many regions of the world struggle with proper hygiene because of an inability to wash their hands. Unfortunately, this causes an unnecessary amount of illness in these areas, halting any further progress. This is where the Tippy Taps come in handy, literally. The Tippy Tap is a hand-free hand washing device specifically designed for these areas without running water. The Tippy Tap does not require any technology, electricity, or even mechanical components. The Tippy Tap simply proves sometimes the best solutions are the simplest to provide.
Benefits of Using a Tippy Tap
Low Cost
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the Tippy Tap is its cost, or in this case, lack of. The ingenious part of this is that you can build a Tippy Tap using materials you can find locally, sometimes from nature itself. This means you can build a Tippy Tap for little to no cost.
Less Water
Using a Tippy Tap to wash your hands only needs to use about 40 milliliters of water per hand wash on average. For comparison, if you were to use a cup of water to wash your hands, you would end up using 500 milliliters.
Easy to Set Up
Tippy Taps are incredibly easy to set up and maintain so any member of the community can take part, but we will go over more on that below. Since they are so inexpensive, you can set up many Tippy Taps near important buildings like schools and kitchens.
Together, We Can Change Lives
With your support, we can continue to expand our reach and provide safe water and hygiene education solutions to more communities around the world.
How to Build a Tippy Tap
The first Tippy Tap device was created by a doctor visiting Zimbabwe, who used a gourd native to the area to hold water for handwashing. These gourds are still sometimes used, and it just proves that important life-saving devices can be made using only items you have on hand. Nowadays, Tippy Taps usually use empty plastic jugs, but you can still get creative if needed.
To get started with building the Tippy Tap hand washing device, you will only need a few commonly found items. A basic set up includes some string, a piece of wood or two, and a container to hold the water, usually a plastic water jug with a handle ideally at least one gallon in size. You will also need a way to melt the plastic handle using a small flame, and may also find some tools to be helpful, like pliers and a nail or screw.
- Find a spot outdoors to set up the Tippy Tap.
- Carefully use a candle or match to melt the base of the handle until the plastic is soft and moldable. Pinch the base closed so you ensure no water can get through. Let the plastic cool.
- Puncture a small hole a few inches above the melted base of the handle, this is where the water will come out. You can use a nail or screw to help puncture the right size hole. You may find another method to create the hole, but make sure it isn’t larger than two millimeters.
- Puncture two more holes through the body of the container. You can also optionally use a net for the container to rest in. Thread a string through the holes and create loops where the Tippy Tap will hang from.
- Thread another string to the bottom of the container and attach either a cap or can to hold the bar of soap.
- Tie another piece of string around the neck of the bottle and tie a loop to the free hanging end.
That is all there is to it. The simple design makes it easy to set up with or without additional tools. You can always experiment with variations of this design, since its simplicity allows for ingenuity on the fly.
How to Use a Tippy Tap
The Tippy Tap is meant to be easy to set up and even easier to use. Once you have finished building the device, you can hang it up by tying the threaded strings onto a wooden stick or anything else you can find in the area. As long as the Tippy Tap is suspended above the ground within reach, you will be able to operate it. To use it, simply pull on the loop at the bottom of the container to tip the device so water pours out. Use the bar of soap to wash your hands and dry them with a clean cloth.
You can even build variations of the design so you don’t need to use your hands to tip the device. For instance, you can use a longer string that reaches the ground, tie it to a piece of wood so you can use your foot to pull down the water instead.
Maintaining Your Tippy Tap
Obviously any Tippy Tap hand washing device will need to be refilled. If the community has access to a water tap, you can use a hose to refill the water jug. Otherwise, find the nearest source of clean water to refill the jugs and restock with a new bar of soap as needed. You should also clean the outside of the Tippy Tap daily and make sure you thoroughly clean and disinfect the inside of the water jug at least once a week.
How You Can Help
Our staff at Healing Waters always provides health and hygiene training to members of the community, so they can pass on the good habits they learn for future generations to come. Simply installing clean water solutions and leaving isn’t enough. We believe it is important to enrich developing communities with the knowledge of preventing the spread of disease so communities can become healthier and happier overtime. Your contributions will allow us to travel to these communities and provide clean water and hygiene training for all! Contact us today for more information.